


Beyond the Sky: Blood Rose

by Csilla_Aria



Series: Beyond the Sky [2]
Category: Last Exile
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-11-23
Updated: 2010-11-23
Packaged: 2017-10-13 08:24:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/135188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Csilla_Aria/pseuds/Csilla_Aria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Over a year after the war has ended, Exile is finally returning for the rest of the people of Prester. However ‘Delphine’s’ army has not yet given up the fight, and what they have in store is far more surprising than anyone ever expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prolog

The guild boy stood in the shadows of one of the ships cargo rooms. Few crew members, and passengers took notice of  him as they left Exile’s dock, after a day of preparing for the ships return. He would rather it stay that way, mostly he wanted to avoid other guilders. He could think of only two he knew he could trust, and he had no idea where they were.

Only a week ago he had escaped the current hidden base of the Blood Rose army, and he wanted to avoid capture at any cost. He needed to get to the Empress and warn her of the rebel’s plans.  
Afterward, he would find Lord Dio, no matter how long it took.

He wasn’t sure who he was, or if he had been anyone else before waking over a month ago. But he remembered being Lucciola, he _looked_ like Lucciola, he had the same thoughts, and feelings as Lucciola. He also remembered Lucciola had died.

Regardless of that ‘Lucciola’ wanted to be with Dio.


	2. Coffee and Tea

Sophia looked as if she might float away as she waited for Vincent to finish reading the recent transmission from Earth. They had learned soon after Exiles safe arrival on the planet that there were people still living on the world. A sparse population, barely more than all the people of Prester spread out mostly through large territories. They had their own monarchies and democracies, and in one area of the map transmitted through Exile, an empire.

The transmission Vincent was reading informed him that Earth was more than willing to bolster its meager population with the people of Prester. They were also very interested in Prester technology, which it seemed had been lost to the people of Earth some time after whatever catastrophe had caused the exodus in the first place. It also basically stated in very polite, political terms: _“We already have enough leaders to complain about, thank you very much. You can come but you’re going to have to find something else to do.”_

He imagined to Sophia it looked like something along the lines of: _“Freedom, just sign here.”_

He looked at Sophia, still standing in front of him unable to keep from smiling. Grinning himself, he looked past her to Alex who was lounging on the sofa. “We may have to tether her down, if this keeps up.”

Alex snorted. “It’s a pity you weren’t here when Duke Aster read that. It was quite a show.  He’s not dealing well with _the end of the monarchy_.”

Vincent raised an eyebrow at Sophia. “ I thought you were the end of the monarchy.”

Sophia still smiling brightly sat beside Alex, and smoothed out her skirts. “Oh no. I’m just the ‘worst thing that has ever happened to the monarchy’. I promised to write him a lovely resume so he could go harass some other royal family.  Earth is sending ambassadors of course. To finalize an immigration treaty and make everything official.”

Vincent sat across from them in a chair and pored himself some coffee. It amazed him how much had changed in a year. How much they had changed each time he visited.

Sophia smiled more, laughed more. When it was only the three of them at times, she even acted like the ‘just turned twenty’  she was, instead of the ‘nineteen going on forty’ she had been.

Alex, ...Well he laughed, and smiled, _and meant it_. Sophia had mentioned to Vincent in letters that he ate more, though this seemed to be brought on more by the demands of physical therapy than anything else. As far as Vincent could see it didn’t look as if he’d gained any weight. He apparently wasn’t drinking anymore either. Sophia hadn’t gone into details, but one or more of meds Alex was taking apparently had ‘side affects’. She had made it very clear it was something that would not be discussed, Vincent wondered if Dr. Actias  had set it up that way on purpose. Alex did speak more, he was able to talk about things now that a year ago had still been far too painful. The doctor had suggested a therapist along with the medication he was now taking. That had been a _spectacular failure_ , nothing got Alex to clam up faster than introducing him to someone who was being paid to listen to his problems.

Physically he had improved more quickly than anyone thought he would. He now tried to spend more time on crutches than in his chair. He could stay on his feet unsupported for very short periods of time now. The longest had been on Sophia’s birthday, when he had managed to dance with her for all of five minuets before nearly falling over.

That was another thing, it was a tiny change in the way they acted to each other. A hand laid gently over an arm, whispered conversations where they would almost touch, an affectionate hand brushed through still unkempt hair. Sophia wasn’t pushing much more than she ever had, but Alex wasn’t pushing away anymore, _and it made a world of difference_.

They both envied him he knew, still being in the skies. They would never know, however how much he envied them being together. A year ago, Alex hadn’t had a future beyond revenge against Delphine. Now they both joked about buying a farm, and raising sheep on Earth. They were joking, but they were talking about the future, a future together. Despite his jealousy he hoped they would have it, and it drove him crazy that they didn’t seem to notice. _“Maybe it’s like having a puppy,...You don’t notice how big the puppy is getting because you see it every day. Then someone comes to visit, and they point out Rover is getting way too big to be a lap dog..”_

“Vincent...Vince?”

Vincent blinked coming back to the present. “Sorry, what?”

Alex, and Sophia were both looking at him with a bit of concern. “Are you all right?” Sophia asked. “We lost you for a bit there.”

Vince took a drink of coffee before replying. “Sorry, I was thinking.”

“I realize that’s an exciting new experience for you, but try to stay focused.”

Vincent glared at Alex, who just smirked back. Sophia rolled her eyes sighing, as she reached to pour herself another cup of coffee.

Some things hadn’t changed at all.

 **__________________________________________________________________________________**  

  
Alvis, and Holly ran to the window of the ship, they had been able see Prester for several days now.  It was mid morning inside the hourglass shaped colony, by this afternoon they would be on their way to Anatoray.

“Hey! Are you two going to come eat breakfast or not?” Lavie tried to sound stern but couldn’t keep the smile off her face. She knew the girls were excited to see the friends left behind on Prester. She felt the same way, but there was also a sense of loss knowing this would be the last time she would see the place she had been born.

Their lives on  Earth had been peaceful and prosperous. She, Claus, and Alvis lived on a farm with Tatiana, Alister, Mullin, Dunya, and her siblings brother Mischa, and sister Ingrid. Mullin, and Dunya had stayed behind to look after the farm, but they had sent presents.

Vanships had become popular on the planet, and the four young pilots found themselves doing quite well as both couriers, and racers.

The farm was often visited by the children from nearby farms, and the small village not far away. Alvis,  Holly, and Dunya’s siblings attended a school there, and had already made several friends.

Their new lives were not without problems however. The people of Prester were given some trouble at times from untrusting earth folk. They, themselves often faced resentment from older men in the village, usually because of their youth, and gender the case of the girls. The guild’s people had it worse, mostly because their physical differences made them easier for the earth people pick out and target them. A lot of people called them _Elves_ , and didn’t mean it as a compliment.

The girls followed her back to where the group had been preparing to eat. Duke Mad-Thane, and his wife Elisabeth were talking with Prince Victor of the New Holy Roman Empire. He was the second son of the Emperor, and had been sent along with his younger sister Princess Mary-Anne as an ambassador.

None of them liked him, He was, as far as Lavie was concerned a handsome version of the rat-faced little cheater who had been captain of the Goliath. He’d been asking a lot of questions about Sophia. The princess seemed to find her brother just as obnoxious as they did by the expression on her face. “Vicky Dear, you’ve been pestering Duke Mad-Thane, and Commander Messina the whole trip. Give it a rest.”

The prince glared at his sister. “Don’t call me Vicky, you know I hate that.” He quickly calmed himself. “I only wish to assess Her Majesty’s character so that we can reach a quick agreement on the treaty that will best benefit everyone involved.”

“Well she sounds like a very intelligent young lady, which means you aren’t her type.” His sister replied evenly before daintily sipping her tea. Victor looked livid, but Mary-Anne was unfazed.  
“Justin wasn’t being serious about giving up his claim to the throne if got her to marry you. You should know that Vicky, And Father will be very upset if this turns into another Edly field.”

“That wasn’t my fault and you know that! And don’t call me Vicky.”

Mary-Anne just waived her hand dismissively at him. “Just remember I’m keeping an eye on you.”

The children eyed one another warily. This was turning out to be more hectic than they had hoped already.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I debated with myself for a long time over whether there would be people living on Earth of not. I actually do have ideas for a story line where the planet was uninhabited. I may make an AU of my AU someday to explore them.
> 
> The Empire is obviously Christian it’s not any of the current denominations, but a form of Christianity that rose out of surviving of the catastrophe that caused Exile to be made in the first place. I want to explore it more in later chapters but as this story takes place on Prester it will be difficult to do so. While it only covers much of Europe, no mater where you live in the world, if you are Christian, or convert to Christianity you are automatically a citizen of the empire.
> 
> The people of Prester are pagan in these stories by the way.
> 
> Mars and Venus have been terra formed, and are also inhabited by humans. They have almost no contact with Earth, and see the people of Earth as hicks at best, and savages at worst. Both planets are technologically superior to Earth, and partly responsible for why Earth is lacking in the same technology. None of this matters for this story. I just wanted to put it here.
> 
> And here is the dreaded making up names thing...Mischa is a Russian name, Ingrid is actually a Norse name, but I really like the name so Dunya’s sister is going to be Ingrid.
> 
> Lady Mad-Thane doesn’t seem to have a first name, but I always thought she looked like an Elisabeth.


	3. Orpheus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some bad language, worse than before. We get some outsiders views of Christianity in this. It’s meant to be funny but some may find it offense. I apologize in advance if that is the case.

A tall slender man stood before a strange metallic chamber, there was a woman inside. The only clues that she lived through the frosted glass were the slight periodic twitches in her limbs.  
The man did not turn as another entered. “Has he been found yet?”

“No sir.” The second man answered. “ He’s avoiding all contact with the guild. Attempts to keep observation on the Silvana have proven...difficult.”

“He won’t go to the Silvana, not immediately anyway. He’ll try to warn the Empress. Forget the Silvana, keep watch on the palace.”

“As you command.” The man bowed and turned to leave. As he reached the door another figure entered. He bowed again as the figure passed.

“No sign then.” It was not a question but the first man nodded anyway. In the darkened room it was difficult to tell if the new arrival was a man, or woman. Their voice gave no clues either.

“The process works though, flawlessly...A bit too flawlessly I admit. The boy is still too loyal to Lord Dio. We must find a way to control _her_ before we attempt to use Orpheus on her.” The first man said never taking his eyes off the chamber. “It is amazing that the Elacrea’s discovered this. The key to _immortality_ , right at our fingertips for years. And Delphine never knew.  The little bitch was so eager for power. She had her parents murdered without ever discovering their secrets. Well the bitch will be leashed this time.”

The second figure made a small noise at the back of their throat. “Will work though? You may pull the puppet’s strings, but many of the strings she pulled have been severed.”

The man snorted. “They will come back. There may not be any more like poor deluded Darius, but most will come crawling back when their queen returns. With Exile’s return we have our chance to take it, and the new world.”

“There is still the Empress, and Alexander Row to contend with. What if the boy reaches them? Why can’t we just make another ‘Lucciola’ to know where he is?”

“You know it doesn’t work that way!” The man snapped. The second frowned, but said nothing. “You saw what the rest were like when we tried. I haven’t had time to work out why the system does that. But we do have others.”

They walked to another chamber where a man floated inside. “Cicada was loyal to the Maestro to the very end. Now he can be our hunter. Have them prepare Orpheus.”

The second figure nodded and walked away silently. Moments later the sound of machinery took over as the chamber containing a man who looked just like Delphine's deceased guard was moved into a large machine with several computer panels in front of it. The man walked over to one of the panels, with the slightest touch a list of names appeared on a screen. He gently placed a hand on the screen to sort through them until he found the one he wanted.

A mechanical sounding voice came from the machine. _“Chosen Mnemosyne Chip:... Cicada, Status:... available, Scanning Clone:... Viable. Orpheus is ready to proceed.”_  
The screen changed, the names disappeared leaving only three words.

  **

Proceed?

**

  
 **Yes      No**

The man made his choice, and the process began. “Sing your song Orpheus. Make Lord Hades weep, and return the dead to us.”

 **__________________________________________________________________________________**  

  
Alex paused to rest, and floated for a few moments over the water of the large indoor pool. Most of the exercises for his physical therapy over the past year had been designed to keep the muscles of his legs from becoming atrophied before he could learn to walk again. Many of the excises had involved the pool allowing him to strengthen his body without the stress of trying to carry his full weight. He liked the pool, having enough water to learn swim was a luxury even many of the wealthy families of Anatoray didn’t have, and with Disith being so cold not many people on Prester ever learned to swim. Alex himself hadn’t learned until he had begun courting Euris, and she insisted on it.

He was startled when the door was thrown open hard enough to hit the wall before slamming shut. He swam over to the side of the pool as Vincent, looking about to go off like a volcano reached him. “That bastard is at it again, and you’re in here goofing off in the pool!”

Alex rolled his eyes. “Does Sophia want me to do something about him?”

“No.” Vincent grumbled sitting down in one of the chairs by the pool and opening the book he had carried with him. He always tried not to look at Alex the few times he had seen him in the pool. The burn scars started at his neck, went down the right side of his back, and down to the elbow of his right arm. There were also the many surgical scars, and his missing hand, all due to surviving the destruction of the Maestros’ flag ship over a year ago. None of this seemed to bother him, or Sophia for that matter. The first time Vincent had seen just how bad the scars were he’d felt sick. Dr. Actias had mentioned cosmetic surgeries that could get rid most of the scaring, but Alex had refused anything that wasn’t a medical necessity. Vincent got sympathy pains if he thought about it for to long.

“Then I wouldn’t worry about it. Prince Victor is annoying, but he’s not a threat. Sophia is a big girl she take care of herself.” Alex said trying to relax again.

“The first thing he did after he got off the ship was propose to her doesn’t that bother you?”

“That he made an ass of himself in front of everyone?” Alex asked smirking. “Why should it?”

Vincent sighed as he thought _“This would be a lot easier to deal with if you were feeling as jealous as I am  instead of amused...”_ instead he said “What if he tries something? He keeps looking at her like she’s some kind of trophy or something. I don’t like it.”

Alex swam back over to the side of the pool, and folded his arm over the edge resting his head on them. “He isn’t that stupid, but if gets carried away...I’ll have a few words with him.” The sudden darkness in his eyes reminded Vincent of why Alex was still one of the most feared men on Prester. “Then you, and Sophia can yell at me for my bad behavior.” He smirked again and the darkness was gone as if it had never been.

Vincent blinked, then remembering something glared at Alex. “Speaking of bad behavior.”

Alex turned away, rolling his eyes. “Here we go.”

“When someone brings up _‘certain things’_ that may, or may not have happened during the war. And they happen to ask about certain rumors involving you, and Delphine. I don’t care how honest it is, _‘I only had one hand free at the time.’_ is not in any way appropriate! Especially not in the middle of dinner with foreign diplomats!”

Alex turned back around to say something, but stopped when he noticed the book Vincent was holding. “You’re actually trying to read that?”

“Don’t change the subject, but yes, it’s kind of interesting.” Vincent replied feeling a bit defensive.

“It doesn’t make any sense. At least when our Gods are complete assess, they don’t pretend they’re doing it because they love us.” Alex pulled himself out of the pool and sat at the edge. “Anyway the whole thing seems to be based on someone’s mother being a very impressive liar.”

Vincent frowned thought fully. “ I don’t know.” He said looking at the book, as he flipped through the pages. “It sounds nice not having to make a sacrifice hoping the gods won’t be dicks this year, knowing full well their going to be dicks anyway.” He grabbed the towel beside the chair and tossed it to Alex. “Herbert, told me a bout some of the holidays too.”

“Who?” Alex asked raising an eyebrow. Pausing, as he reached for his crutches.

“You know the short, pudgy, old guy, want’s everyone to call him ‘Dad’ for some reason.”

“You mean Father Jamieson?  Vince that’s the priest the Empire sent ‘Father’ is his title.”

“Oh,...That makes more sense. Maybe I should ask him about the “Christ mass” thing again. I’m really sure I missed some thing. He’s kind of hard to understand... Especially when he forgets to put his teeth in.”

“What is ‘Christ Mass’ I don’t think I ever got that far?” Alex asked wondering if he’d regret it.

“Ok..Lets see. Um.. It’s when the founder of the whole religion was born. So it’s important....And some fat old priest got stuck in someone’s chimney, and had to bribe the family with gifts before they would help him out.” Vincent smiled at Alex, glad he had remembered that much.

Alex gave him a cynical look. “I think if you are really interested in this, you probably need to talk to someone other than Father Jamieson.”

 **__________________________________________________________________________________**  

  
General, Gregory Fortel, of the Western American Territories looked around the counsel table.  
They had been here a week and a half as Exile was being prepared for the evacuation, and had met to discuss the immigration treaty every day. This meeting had run late into the evening, and they had ended up dining in the counsel room.  Despite the short time he felt he’d gotten to know everyone here pretty well. Those from Earth, of course he had already known.

Admiral, Milena Covas from the Southern American territories had been both enemy, and ally over their long careers.

Governors,  Joseph Keep; Northern American territories, and Charles E. Rentlen; Eastern American Territories, had been friends of his for years.

Minister Dale Welts, from Australia was easy to get along with even with the distractions at present.

Governor Isoke Tahri of the African Union was other than Princess Mary-Anne the youngest Earthling at the table. She had made it clear she was mostly interested the Prester ships, and Claudia mining equipment, as abundant Claudia mines had already been discovered in Union territory.

Lord Hua Feng, of The United Kingdoms of Asia, was here mostly as a formality. Not many of the Prester people had emigrated there. As they seemed to be descended from westerners to begin with, and had settled more comfortably in the west

The Empire had sent the most people.  Prince Victor was the official ambassador of the royal family. When Fortel had heard that Emperor Jonathan III, had decided to send Victor he wondered why out of seven children the man had chosen the stupid one. He wasn’t surprised to see Mary-Anne there. Victor was official, but Mary-Anne was doing all the work.  
And of course Father Jamieson was there because the Empire involved religion in everything.

It was the Prester council that surprised him. Duke Mad-Thane, and Commander Messina had spoken highly of the young Empress, but then people of the Empire spoke highly of _Victor_. They had all been expecting a scared little kitten being pushed around by the bigger cats. Instead they had walked into the den of an unrestrained tigress, with cubs to protect. She wasn’t on her own either. Every meeting she sat between Admiral Vincent Alzey, and Counselor (formerly Captain) Alex Row. They were both just as clever, and steel-willed as their empress, but Row was the one he was keeping his eye on. He’d heard stories about the man from people who had settled near his home, and more on the trip to Prester. From the descriptions he was, at best completely insane, at worst an unkillable demon. Fortel had to admit he had one hell of a poker face.

Both Mad-Thane, and Messina were also present, and there were other advisers, but he paid little attention to them as nearly every one of them seemed to be trying to get in good with Victor, and Mary-Anne already.

Empress Sophia had few demands for her side of the treaty. She had already agreed to abdicate the throne once they reached Earth. She wanted the people of Prester to be guaranteed no discrimination for jobs, health care, and homes. She also wanted the airships of Prester, which could now be brought to Earth, and Exile itself to remain independent of anyone nation. It was a very clever move, if the ships didn’t belong to anyone country they couldn’t be used against another. It would be years before anyone on Earth would be fully prepared to make Claudia ships of there own.

Her refusal to back down on this last demand was what most of the meetings had been about. Several days went by of discussions, and sending messages back, and forth to Earth through the communications system set up before Exile’s return trip. Eventually  Empress Sophia made it clear she had no problem trying to negotiate with Mars, and Venus if it became necessary.  Even the Emperor finally agreed to the last demand, they may have all hated each other but they hated Mars, and Venus more. Now they were setting terms for the use of the ships.

First it was decided that all nations would have the same amount of access to the Prester ships. Second, and most important to Sophia, was that no Prester ship would be used in aggression by one country against another. The rest was settling how the ships would be used for things like trade, and emergencies. It was always the fine details that caused the most trouble.

Around ten they were interrupted by a sudden ruckus outside.

 **__________________________________________________________________________________**  

  
Lucciola ran through the trees toward the palace wall. He was finally here. He nearly made to the palace wall before he was attacked. He broke away from his attacker and pulled out the dagger he carried.  He was surrounded.

“Do you intend to betray the Maestro again, Lucciola?”

Lucciola turned to face his brother. “Delphine is dead. There is no Maestro.  You don’t have to do this Cicada. You are free to live your own life now!”

Cicada ordered those following him to attack. After Lucciola quickly killed four of the combatants with little trouble, the others began to hesitate. Guards from the palace were heard shouting, and heading to ward them. Lucciola took his chance to escape. He would have to find another way to get to the Empress. Cicada tried to follow, but the guards were too close now and he had to order a retreat.

When the guards arrived only the dead remained.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Orpheus is a reference to the myth of Orpheus, and Eurydice.
> 
> Mnemosyne is the personification of memory in Greek myths.
> 
> Coming up with some names for the ambassadors gave me some trouble. Even though they are minor characters I want to be accurate as possible with the naming traditions of everyone’s countries.
> 
> Isoke Tahri Has me the most worried as I can’t find much on African name traditions. For now her name is in the western order of given name first, surname last.  
> Milena Covas originally had two surnames as it’s a Spanish tradition, but further research mentioned that some people now see this as sexist so I decided to give her only one.  
> Hua Feng, is named in the eastern tradition, so Hua (taken from a version of the legend of Hua Mulan) is his surname.  
> If anyone knows anything about name traditions in other countries, and if anything needs corrected please let me know, it would be very appreciated!


	4. Emotion

Lavie sighed, they had planed to go to Norkia today to see if wasn’t anything else that could be salvaged from their old house. The plans had been canceled after what might have been an attempt to attack the palace. No one knew what had happened, only that four rebels had been found dead outside the palace wall.

Dio sitting at the table looked troubled. He’d gone to see if he could identify the bodies, and had been able to identify all but one. He was bothered though because he was sure one of those he identified had died during the war.

“What about the people who were fighting you after Delphine took you? Claus said they were all brought back right? Maybe it’s the same thing.” Lavie said as she walked over to the table.

Dio shook his head. “No, this is different. It’s simple with guild technology to quickly repair the wounds, and resuscitate those who died recently. Even if a lot of damage has been done... I must be wrong, but I could have sworn he was the one piloting the starfish that attacked you at the ruins, he’d been dead far too long for that.”

Tatiana who had been looking out the window turned and frowned thoughtfully. “The one Alex killed? Lavie, didn’t you say half his head was gone?”

Lavie nodded. “Maybe there was just too much, er damage done for you to recognize who it was.”

Dio nodded one but still looked bothered. Alvis sat in the chair next to him. “Are you ok?”

Seeing the girls concern he managed a smile. “I’m fine it’s just...For a while I’ve been feeling like I’ve lost something, but no matter what I do, I just can’t figure out what it could be.”

No one spoke, but they all had a feeling of what Dio had lost. None of them had heard him speak to Lucciola since they had met up with the boy the day after they arrived.   

Feeling awkward Lavie tried to change the subject. “Where is Claus anyway?”

Alister bit her lip. “I saw him arguing with Alex earlier. He’s really mad about Alex wanting us all to leave on the Silvana.”

Lavie sighed, and hung her head. Claus was still angry with Alex for not telling them about their fathers. There were other things too, she supposed, but Claus didn’t want to talk about any of it. When she had angrily brought up how much like Alex he was acting they had gotten into a big fight over it. “Oh, good. This just keeps getting better.”

 **__________________________________________________________________________________**  

“It was a suggestion, not an order. None of us know what’s going on. This the first time we’ve seen any Blood Rose activity so close to the palace. They may be after Alvis.” Alex stated trying to keep his temper despite the rapidly worsening headache.

“So you want all of us out of the way where we stay in the dark! Even Tatiana, and Alis?” Claus shouted his tone accusing.

“Is it really that difficult for you to believe I’m concerned about your safety?” Alex asked his voice rising slightly despite his efforts to stay calm. He focused on the papers spread over his desk, not turning to look at the boy. “You can’t defend yourself outside of a vanship. How do you intend to keep Lavie, and Alvis safe? I’m trying to protect y..”

“NO! No. _You left_. You walked away, and you never looked back! You don’t get to try and be family now.” Claus left slamming the door before Alex could respond.

He didn’t turn away from his desk a few moments later when the door opened quietly. Sophia walked over and hesitantly placed her hands on his shoulders. Alex leaned back in the chair sighing. “He’s right. I left them...I left you, I left everything, and I didn’t care.”

Sophia leaned forward and wrapped her arm around his shoulders resting her cheek against his hair. “You care now.”

“That doesn’t really make a difference though, does it?” He said quietly reaching up, and resting his hand over hers.

 **__________________________________________________________________________________**  

In the dark room filled with the clone chambers, the androgynous figure frowned as they leaned forward to get a closer look and the woman in the chamber. “Is she supposed to be smiling like that? I thought they were all...blank until the Mnemosyne chips were activated.”

The man examining another clone chamber rolled his eyes. “She does have a brain Ira. Unlike you, the clones are susceptible to biological impulses.”

Ira frowned again. “You could be a bit more grateful, Augustus. You wouldn’t have any of this if it weren’t for me.”

Augustus turned glaring. “You only knew about the thing! You had no idea where it was, or what it even did! I did all the work.”

“It’s not my fault they changed everything around while I was deactivated.” Ira said walking over to Orpheus and examining the panels carefully. “It looks like ‘Lucciola’ is still alive, but several of the clones you sent out are dead. Maybe Cicada was a mistake.” Ira turned, and smiled smugly at Augustus

Augustus glared back. “You know, I wonder what moment of insanity gave anyone the idea of giving an android  personality.”

“Lord Elacrea said almost the same thing once.” Ira replied still smiling. Humans really were _so_ entertaining. 

 **__________________________________________________________________________________**  

  
Mary-Anne walked through the gardens on the palace grounds. There were more guards active since the incident last night. Victor was off looking for Empress Sophia still hoping to impress the girl by offering to protect her. Mary-Anne wondered if she should warn Sophia about that. She paused, hearing someone speak.

“Do you ever wish you could knock their heads together? I get so frustrated every time I come here. I mean I know Alex. You know what he’s like.”

Curious, Mary-Anne walked quietly past the trees to see Admiral Alzey, cup of coffee in hand sitting on a stone bench in front of a large marble stone.

“Sophia, I don’t get, it’s like she’s gone blind or something. It used be he’d smile at her, even a little, and you could see her whole face light up. Now she’s ...used to it guess. Maybe their spending too much time together? Not that the current situation is helping any.”

“Admiral Alzey?” Mary-Anne walked up quietly. “Who, are you talking to?”

Vincent jumped a bit, and turned. “Oh, Good morning Your Highness,..I was just talking to Euris.” He motioned toward the marble stone in front of him. It was a memorial stone.

“I see, I’m terribly sorry, I’ll leave you..”

“No, it’s fine.” He moved over to give her room. “Have a seat...Where is your brother?”

Mary-Anne sat beside him, and smoothed out the wrinkles in the skirt of her gown. “I imagine getting lost looking for the Empress....Who was she?”

Vincent smiled sadly. “Euris was Sophia’s cousin, and Prime Minister Marius’ daughter. Alex, and I went to the academy with her. Before we even graduated she, and Alex were engaged. Then they were chosen to go on a peace mission, with Lord Valca, and Mr. Head, Claus and Lavie’s fathers. Alex didn’t want her to go. They argued about it all the time, she finally talked him into it. Said if she wasn’t going with him, then she was going to make sure _he_ didn’t go.” Vincent lifted his head and looked up to the sky. “There used to be a storm that never ended up there, between Anatoray, and Disith. Now you can look up, and see the snow fields on the other side... We called it the Grand Stream, winds strong enough to tear metal. They had to fly through it, in vanships so the guild couldn’t detect them. The guild found out anyway.... Alex was the only one to come back.”

They were both silent for a moment. Mary-Anne looked thoughtfully at the stone, and then glanced at Vincent. “And now, he’s falling in love with the Empress.” She stated carefully gauging the Admiral’s reaction. She’d been watching the three of them since arrival, and being as self admittedly nosy as she was, ‘overhearing’ the servants. Something was going on, and she wanted to know what.    

“You noticed that too? I wish they’d notice. That’s what I was talking to Euris about.” Vincent scratched his head. “...It’s been kind of a one-sided conversation.” He said lamely.

Mary-Anne nodded. “Is it Her Majesty, or Counselor Row?”

“Hmm?” Vincent raised and eyebrow taking a drink of his cooling Coffee.

“The one you’re in love with.” She stated flatly, looking slyly at him out of the corner of her eye.

Vincent choked on his coffee.

 **__________________________________________________________________________________**  

  
Lucciola pulled his hat down to hide his ears, and eyes from view the best he could. The surface dwellers clothing he had stolen felt coarse, and uncomfortable against his skin, but it was to only way he had been able to sneak into the palace.

“You there! New kid. Take this down to the kitchens.” The tall, portly, man in charge of delivering supplies to the castle handed Lucciola a small crate.

“Yes, Sir.” Lucciola followed two other workers slowly toward the kitchen, trying to remain unnoticed.  Now that he was inside, he needed to find a way to Sophia, or even Alex undetected. After leaving his cargo in the storage room, one of the men he had followed lightly clapped him on the back. “You do good work kid.  Lets head back.” He said grinning encouragingly.

Lucciola nodded keeping his head down. On the way back to the cargo ships something happened he had never expected. He heard familiar voices coming down the hall.

“He does have a point Claus, If they are after Alvis she will be safer on the Silvana.” It was Tatiana, walking behind a rather angry looking Claus, also followed by Alvis, Lavie, Alister, and,

“Dio...” Lucciola quickly hid in an old storage room as they passed. His heart beat pounding in his ears. He was torn between running to his friend, and keeping his cover. “How would I ever explain?” He watched them walk away from his hiding spot, feeling as if lead had been poured in his stomach.

“Come on Immelman! It could be fun, almost like old times. You’re being so grouchy you look like Alex!” This made Claus even more angry for some reason but Dio remained unfazed. “Hey! Are you hungry? I am. I bet you’ll feel better after you’ve had something to eat. I know where the kitchens are! Come on!”

After they were out of sight, Lucciola stepped out of his hiding place. He looked toward the kitchens, and then down toward where the cargo ships waited. Making his decision, he ran down another hall. He had no idea where this one headed, but he was determined to find the Empress. He would tell her everything he knew, and then he would find Dio, and never leave his side again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn’t sure exactly what Ira would be at first. But I decided on an android. Ira is the only one. An experiment that was considered a failure. It was constructed at the same time as Orpheus, but shut down soon after, because Lord Elacrea found it very annoying.
> 
> Delphine never knew about any of this. In the universe my stories take place in it was Delphine, and Dio’s parents who pulled the first takeover of the guild. The Bassianus family had been in charge for sometime before that. When Marius became Maestro, he tried to fix relations with both Anatoray, and Disith, and between the two countries as well, this caused him to be disliked by many in the guild. This was also how he met Euris’ mother. After Marius married her, he fell further out of favor with the rest of the guild. The Elacrea’s seeing their chance started an uprising against him. It ended when Euris was seven, and Darius betrayed the family after becoming obsessed with the Elacrea’s daughter (er...Not that way. He was convinced she was the physical embodiment of Hera. He never was a stable guy.) Euris’ mother was killed, but Euris, and Marius escaped.  
> Ressius, and the Hamilton’s both went into hiding not long after this, and Alvis was born in Anatoray. When Delphine pulled her own coup, and took over she had Alvis’ parents tracked down, and captured them. But Alvis’ Grandfather, and Gita, along with a few other servants had already escaped with the girl. She couldn’t get any information about their daughter, who was already believed to be the ‘Key to Exile’ out of them even after days of torture. In the end she had them thrown out into the Grand Stream, having been amused by seeing the same thing happen to ‘one of those silly little vanship pilots’ earlier that day.


	5. Attack

Lucciola was beginning to wonder if he hadn’t made an error in his plans to get into the palace.

“And when you’ve finished with that, I want all this taken to the laundry! Are you listening to me boy?” The lady standing in front glared at him suspiciously. Though she had looked at everyone under her command like that.

“Yes, Ma’am. I’ll get started right way, Ma’am.” He answered for what had to be the twentieth time since he had been caught searching the halls and sent to work.

 **__________________________________________________________________________________**  

  
“So, what exactly is this about?” Alex asked Vincent as they passed through the library. “I thought you liked Princess Mary-Anne.”

“It’s...Nothing...She just said something weird. That’s all.” Vincent answered looking about as if he expected the princess to jump out at them.

“What did she say?”

“Nothing!” Vincent looked at Alex who was now smirking at him with an eyebrow raised. “It was nothing important...it was just...weird.”

“If it was nothing, you wouldn’t act like this.” Seeing no one else around he leaned in closer, still smirking. “Did she come on to you or something? I’ve noticed she’s been watching you.”

Vincent was blushing now. “You know what. Forget I said anything... How did your talk with Claus go? He still looked like he was fuming at lunch.”

Alex sighed. “Bad.” He straightened up, and turned toward a near by table carefully avoiding hitting the chairs with his crutches. He sat in a chair by the window and placed the crutches on the table. Vincent followed and sat beside him. “The worst part is, I understand why he’s angry. I was gone when it mattered, I don’t really have the right to try and get involved now. I regret that, eleven years too late to do anything.” He gave a bitter smile before turning to look out the window. The color drained from his face. “Where are Sophia, and Alvis?”

“What?” Vincent followed his gaze, just in time to see a guild’s man slip over the garden wall. “Son of a bitch. I’ll alert the guards.”

Vincent took off out the door and down the hall. Alex grabbed his crutches and despite knowing it was probably a bad idea headed out into the garden.

 **__________________________________________________________________________________**  

  
“He is inside the palace, Sir. Though he does not seem to have made contact with anyone yet. There is still time to apprehend him.” The boy knelt before Cicada, waiting further orders.

Cicada grimaced, then look over what was left of his forces. “No. It’s too late for that. We will attack the palace. Kill as many as you can. Make sure Lucciola dies with them.” He walked to the entrance of their hiding place. “They must not discover the location of Orpheus. For the sake of the Maestro. Kill anyone you can, and yourselves if you must.”

His followers bowed quickly before they began to prepare for battle.

 **__________________________________________________________________________________**  

  
Sophia sighed, as she turned the corner to look in Vincent’s guest room. _“Where is everyone?”_ she thought becoming frustrated. She hadn’t seen anyone since lunch. Not even any of the children. Sighing again she shut the door quietly and walked down the hall.

“Ah. Your Highness! I’ve been looking for you.”

 _“Oh, no! Not now...”_ “Prince Victor, Good after noon.” Sophia gave a small curtsy, smiling in what she hoped was a pleasant way.

The prince smiled charmingly. “I do believe I told you Victor is fine. Please, allow me to accompany you for a while. I’d hate to think of you going unprotected with the incident last night.

 _“This is the last thing I need right now...”_ Sophia thought as she was now having to make an effort not to laugh in his face. “That is very kind of you, but I’m sure you have other things to attend to.”

“Sophia!” They both turned to see Vincent running toward them. “I’m so glad I found you. Alex and I saw a guilds man sneaking over the garden wall. The group from last night might be might be on the move again.”

Prince Victor stiffened, and went pale.

Sophia only nodded. “Alvis? The other children?”

“Safe. There are guards with them, just be sure. The outer perimeter of the palace is also being searched.” Vincent replied as they walked down the hall.

“Good.  Make sure the ambassadors are protected as well.  We can’t take the chance. There may already be some inside. I want all the guards that can be spared to search the palace.” Sophia, and Vincent turned the corner of the hallway having forgotten Victor, still standing pale faced where they had left him. He stood looking around, suspicious of every shadow. When a maid dropped her dust mop to clatter on the floor a few halls away he jumped, and went to find a place to hide.

 **__________________________________________________________________________________**  

  
Hours later everything had calmed a bit. The palace was still being thoroughly searched, but there had been no sign of any further activity.  Sophia had decided to put more guards on active duty just to be safe. Victor had been found in a broom closet by an unfortunate maid. They had both been very startled by this, and the poor girl had been excused from her job to go lie down for a bit. Victor was holding an ice pack to his head where the girl had hit him with her broom.

He wasn’t the only one who had been injured, Alex was now laying on his stomach on a long sofa in one of the sitting rooms while Sophia placed a hot compress on his back.

“It’s your own fault, you know.” Vincent chided, seeing Alex wince. “What were you thinking going out into the garden by yourself anyway?”

“Honestly? I was thinking ‘this is probably a bad idea.’ I wasn’t expecting tree roots to be the problem though.” Alex winced again when Sophia pressed the compress down harder than she needed to.

Sophia just glared at him he turned his head to look at her. Though anxiety was apparent on her face. “I’m going to have to find someone to babysit you aren’t I? Really, Alex what would you have done if you had found one of them?”

“I probably would have still tripped over the tree root.” The pain was fading faster than Alex had expected, even after Sophia had made him take his pain medication. Come to think of it, he was starting to feel sleepy. Frowning he looked suspiciously at Sophia. “You gave me the green ones didn’t you.”  

“You didn’t bother looking before you took them, did you? Besides how else am I supposed to keep you out of trouble.” Sophia stated, giving Alex the look she usually reserved for when Duke Aster, or one of his minions had gone too far. Even a year later Sophia still knew more than Alex did about his meds.

There were the antidepressants, pills that were somehow still repairing the nerve damage, supplements that went with them, pain killers, and several other things he’d never really paid attention to. This gave both Dr. Actias, and Sophia no end of frustration. Alex felt he knew himself well enough to know that if he learned exactly what did what, eventually he’d get around too _not taking things he really needed to be taking._

For Alex the bottles of pills were kept in three different groups, the first was taken ether shortly before, or after a meal, because taking them on an empty stomach made him sick. The second he took right before bed when he hadn’t eaten in a while because taking them with food would make him sick. The third were the ‘little green pills’, which he avoided as much as possible. They were pain killers, stronger than the ones he usually took, and they always made him fall asleep. He _hated_ the green ones.

He wanted to make a snide comment in return, but he was no longer thinking clearly so he settled for glaring at her again. This apparently didn’t go as intended either because she just looked at him sympathetically, and stroked his hair. As always with the pills it didn’t take long before he was a sleep.

When he woke hours later, the sky was dark, and he was alone in the sitting room. Getting up carefully he found his back no longer hurt so much, so he reached for his crutches and set out for his room. Everything was quiet though there were still twice the usual amount of guards about. A few acknowledged him with a curt nod when he passed them. He made it to his room without any trouble and prepared for bed, deciding he’d find out what had happened after he’d fallen asleep in the morning.

It turned out to be a good thing he got those few hours of sleep, because he wouldn’t be getting any more tonight. In fact in a few minutes everyone was going to be awake.

Laying in bed he tried to get comfortable but his back was still aching a bit. He went still when he heard a noise at his window, and pretended to sleep as a figure slipped in quietly as they could. In the dim light the intruder crept to the bed and raised a dagger preparing to strike. Despite the lingering pain Alex managed to take his would be attacker by surprise. He grabbed the figure’s arm in his left hand, twisting till they released the weapon. He then pulled them down onto the bed, and rolled so that he was straddling them even as they tried to fight him off. Having taken off his prosthetic earlier did the thing he could think of at the moment. He rammed the stump of his arm into the intruder’s throat with all the force he could manage. They went still, and he tried to catch his breath as he began hearing shouts, screams, and fighting outside his room.

Getting off the bed, and grabbing one of his crutches he limped to the door.  Out in the hall he nearly ran into General Fortel, and Governor Keep. The General glanced at him taking the slightly calm moment light a cigar. “Evnin’ yer arms off, son.”

“I wasn’t sure I’d have time for it.” Alex replied, pushing back his annoyance at being called ‘son.’

Any further conversation was however interrupted when another group of well-armed guilds men turned the corner. Alex managed to hold his own in the ensuing fight, and was relived when several guards appeared. In all the chaos he’d lost track of the two ambassadors. He was quickly tiring out though, and was soon taken out of the fight by a well-placed kick the gut which sent him to floor, and his crutch flying out of reach. Knowing he wouldn’t be able to keep up anymore. He tried to at least get out of the way while he was still unnoticed when he looked up to a sight that made his blood run cold. He had been noticed, and there was a dead man, blade in hand coming straight for him.

He couldn’t remember the man’s name, but he remembered the face of Delphine’s right hand minion. The last time he’d seen it had been on a mortuary table, over a year ago. Alex was frozen, his mind kept screaming for his body to do something, anything, but his muscles wouldn’t obey. All he could do was watch death walk right toward him. _“It’s funny.”_ He found himself thinking as the man pressed him down on the floor and raised his knife. He shut his eyes. _“I spend ten years on a murder/suicide I end up surviving. Now I can’t see a way out of this, and I really don’t want to die...”_  It wasn’t until he heard the voice of another he knew to be dead. “Drop it, Cicada.” That he realized several moments had passed, and the death blow never came. He opened his eyes to see Lucciola holding another blade to Cicada’s throat.

Cicada growling let Alex go and turned to attack Lucciola, who avoided the swipe of the blade.  
The boy really didn’t want to kill his brother, mostly because he was unsure how quickly Augustus could awaken another clone of him. So he tossed his own blade aside, and attempted to disarm Cicada as well. He wasn’t having any luck this time when a large vase was broken over Cicada’s head, and he slumped to the floor. Dio, now empty handed stood there staring at him.  
“Lucciola?” Hesitating a bit, Dio reached out and touched his face.

“Lord Dio....I” He didn’t get to finish when Dio, tears streaming down his face now threw his arms around him. “ _Lucciola_! Lucciola, I missed you so much!”


	6. Before the Storm

It was early morning, the sun had just risen high enough to shine in the windows of the council room where Sophia sat with her counselors, some of the ambassadors from Earth, and many members of the guild’s ruling council.

There had, fortunately been few fatalities in the attack, but there had been several injuries. Alex was sporting several bruises, and Vincent had his right arm in a sling. After the fighting had ended, and the survivors of Cicada’s forces had been taken into custody, including Cicada. They were still being interrogated, but Lucciola had immediately told them everything he knew.

They were now discussing possible courses of action while they awaited any new information the interrogations could bring.

Sophia gave Alex a worried glance.  He sat with his elbows on the table and his head resting in his hand. He looked angry, and frustrated she knew it was mostly directed inward. He hadn’t been able to look at them when he explained what had happened with Cicada. She wished she could do something to distract him from mentally beating himself over it. When a distraction finally came it was definitely not one she would have hoped for.

“Such technology could prove useful. Why are we discussing destroying this ‘Orpheus’ when we could take custody of it?” Duke Aster stated looking around the table.

Alex lifted his head, and stared at Duke Aster, his expression unreadable. “What, exactly would we do with it?” His voice was quiet, and surprisingly steady. Before the Duke could respond, Alex continued speaking. “Who would have control of it? You? Would you let me? Would it be a perk of the wealthy? Would it be used to bring back dead solders, so they can be sent out to die again?”

Duke Aster sputtered his face going red. “Of course not I’m just saying...” He paused to think for a moment, then his expression changed to smugness. “Currently the machine seems to have nearly every Guild member ‘on record’ so to speak. If it were captured perhaps Prime Minister Marius, and Lady Bassianus....”

“Are dead.” Duke Aster stared at Alex his mouth gaping. Alex stood up. “Orpheus doesn’t bring back the dead. That boy isn’t Lucciola, he’s said as much himself. Just a pawn of the Blood Rose. If we use it, we are no better than them, We’re no better Delphine. It never should have been made, it needs to be destroyed. If you’ll excuse me.” Alex left the room without another word. No one tried to stop him. For a long while afterward the room remained silent.

 **__________________________________________________________________________________**  

  
Dr. Actias examined Lucciola, it was a bit difficult as Dio was still clinging to him. “Well everything looks in perfect order to me. Though whatever you decide to do, I’d like to keep regular check ups with you. Cloning organs for transplants is one thing, but I’d never have imagined even with our technology being able to clone an entire human body.”

“Thank you, Dr. Actias.” He turned to Dio. “After this is over, Lord Dio, Even if I am not the Lucciola you knew....I would like to stay with you.”  

Dio smiled, hugging Lucciola tighter. “Don’t be silly, Lucciola, is Lucciola no matter what! I’m never letting you out of my sight again.”

Tatiana frowned thinking for a few moments before walking over to Dr. Actias. “Doctor, Do you think...He could really be Lucciola? I mean...He did say they weren’t able to make another...copy of him after he woke up.”

Actias sat in a nearby chair, and thought for a few moments before answering, he didn’t bother keeping his voice down. “I think it’s far more likely that the Mnemosyne chip implant had begun ‘recording’ again, and it caused too much interference for the memories to copy into another clone.” He looked at Lucciola, and Dio. “Anything beyond that, I think is for you to decide. I’m certainly no expert on the nature of the soul. You may very well be the same Lucciola, or you could meet him on the other side.”

“I hope it goes well.” Alex said shutting the door behind him. He looked at Lucciola. “You really don’t seem the type to get along with yourself.” He walked over to an unoccupied sofa and flopped down wincing a bit at the still lingering pain in his back.

Claus frowned. “The meeting is finished already?”

“No, I left.” Alex laying down now, brought an arm up to cover his eyes, but other than that was still.

Tatiana blinked at him in confusion. “...You...just walked out of an important meeting?”

“It was either that, or kill Duke Aster right there in front of everyone.” No one was quite sure what to say to that, and Alex didn’t offer any more of an explanation.

After a few awkward moments quiet conversation broke out again. Not long after Sophia, and Vincent walked in.

“We have a plan to take out Orpheus, and the current Blood Rose base.”  Sophia said quietly, she turned to Lucciola. “We’re going to need your help. We need to know everything you can tell us the layout of the base. We’re going to have to send a team in with an explosive to make sure Orpheus is destroyed.”

Lucciola stood, and bowed slightly Dio stood up with him. “I will take it myself. I would have an easier time getting in an out than sending someone with a second hand account of the base.”

“Lucciola.” Sophia looked sympathetically at the boy, she wanted to talk him out of it after everything he had been through. However she could see the determination in his eyes, and she knew he was right. She nodded slowly. “I’ll make sure you have the best people with you when you go.”

Dio grabbed Lucciola’s arm smiling despite the circumstances. “You’re definitely not going without me!”

“But...Lord Dio..” Lucciola turned to Dio with a look of distress on his face.

Dio pouted at him. “No. I’m going with you. Didn’t I just say I’m never letting you out of my sight again?...And it’s Dio now, not Lord Dio.”

Sophia left them to their discussion and walked over to Alex, who was sitting up again. “Can we talk?” She asked softly. He nodded and they went unnoticed into the next sitting room. Sophia quietly shut the door behind her.  Alex sat on the sofa. She joined him nervously wringing her hands in her lap.“I’m sorry, I never even though about it...I..” Sophia stopped when Alex gently placed a finger over her lips.

“You have nothing to apologize for.” Alex said shaking his head slowly. “ I thought about it. I won’t deny that, when Lucciola first told us about Orpheus. They wouldn’t have, not Marius, not Euris. The Elacrea’s saw them as too much of a threat....Even if they had,...even if we could, it would never be Euris, not _our_ Euris.” When she wouldn’t look up at him, he gently grabbed her chin with his left hand and tilted her head up. Tears were starting to trail down her cheeks, he wiped them away. _“You would in heart beat wouldn’t you. If you thought it would make me happy. Even if you were left alone, and miserable for the rest of your life.”_  The thought left a dull ache in his chest.

He placed his right hand over hers, he was starting to worry she’d rub her hands raw at the rate she was going. She took the hand in both of her as if trying to warm it. Whatever the prosthetic was covered with felt like skin, but always remained cool to the touch. It was one of the few things that bothered him about it. “I meant what I said, Sophia. Perhaps I don’t have room to talk, as many lives as I’ve taken. But I believe no one should have that kind of power over the life of another.” He placed his forehead against hers, she blinked it was something he hadn’t done since Euris had died. “I’m all right.” He whispered, he sat back again. “You?” Sophia nodded smiling despite the tears still clinging to her lashes.

They could hear a commotion outside as people began preparing the ships at the royal docking station for the expected oncoming battle. Alex stood up and held his hand out to Sophia. “Sounds like their getting ready. I for one don’t intend to wait here till everyone gets back.”

Sophia took his hand and stood. “I wonder if I have time to change into my uniform.”

 **__________________________________________________________________________________**  

  
Alex stood leaning against the wall of the Silvana’s hanger. They had arrived at the Guild City, where all the ships that could be spared were preparing. They didn’t know how many ships Blood Rose had at its disposal, but they did not want to underestimate the enemy.

Tatiana, and Alis were checking over the fighter vanship they hadn’t seen in a year. They both wore expressions of affection similar to the ones they’d had  when first seeing Sophia again. Not far away Claus, and the Navi who had volunteered to help him were preparing another vanship while Lavie, and Alvis looked on anxiously. Both Dio, and Lucciola who would be entering the base with a team of fifty others had been provided Starfish by the guild.

Sophia walked in wearing her uniform and glasses, Alex found it odd realizing how much he had missed seeing her in that, followed by Hesperia. They went to Lucciola, and Dio. Hesperia handed Lucciola two devices, the explosive was smaller than Alex had expected. “Good luck, Lucciola, Lord Dio. Our prayers will be with you.”

Sophia nodded. “We’ll draw as much of their forces out into air battle as we can. With luck they won’t be expecting anyone to try and get inside.”

“According to the floor plans we found, the explosives should have enough power to take out most of the base, but the outer walls have thick armor, and will keep the explosion contained. Be sure you are outside when you use the detonator. The farther away you are the safer you’ll be.” Hesperia said, Lucciola nodded, but Dio took the detonator from him and clipped it to his own clothes.

“I’ll make sure he doesn’t do anything silly.” Dio said cheerfully, saluting.

Still standing out of the way, Alex watched as Claus passed. “So you’re going to fight again?”

Claus paused but didn’t look at him. “Are you going to tell me not to?”

“It’s not my place. Would you listen if I did?”

Claus said nothing.

“Can I at least tell you to be careful?”

Claus finally looked at him. “Would Dad be proud of me?..For everything?...There’s so much Lavie, and I can’t remember about them.”

Alex nodded. “Yes. I don’t think you, and Lavie have ever done anything that wouldn’t make them proud.”

“...Maybe... After all this is over...we could talk, about them I mean. I know Lavie wants to know more about her dad.”

Alex nodded again. “Make sure you come back.”

Claus nodded in return, and went back to the vanship.

 **__________________________________________________________________________________**  

  
Alex, and Sophia walked down the hall toward the lift that would take them to the bridge. Before they reached it, they heard Vincent call out to them.

“Hey!” Slightly out of breath Vincent grinned at them and handed Alex his uniform. “You forgot this. You’ll look weird, being out of uniform up there.”

“Taking the opportunity to go through my things, I see.” Alex took the uniform, looking at Vincent with more irritation than he felt.

“Of course! I have to go. I’ve got Lavie, and Alvis distracting the mechanics for me. If I’m lucky, I might not have to dodge a punch on the way out.” Grinning he saluted before turning and jogging back down the hall.

Sophia smiled at Alex. “I’ll be on the bridge, don’t take to long.”

He nodded, and watched her go before heading in another direction to change.

When Sophia got to the bridge the crew was waiting, she noticed some of them trying to hide their disappointment at not seeing Alex with her.

“Transmission from the city Your Highness. All available ships are ready to launch. They’re awaiting your orders.”  The speaker was someone she didn’t recognize, and he looked nervous.

Sophia nodded at the crewman.  “Do you have the coordinates?” She asked taking up her familiar place as first officer.

“Yes, Ma’am”

“Very well, Order all ships to launch.  Our target is the Blood Rose base in Disith.” As crew went to work Sophia closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. This would be the first time Anatoray, Disith, and the Guild would fight together for the sake of Prester. She hoped it would be the last. She smiled a little while later when a door opened and Alex walked in. Wina squeaked, and nearly dropped her headphones.

Seeing the captain’s chair unoccupied he sat placing his crutches to the side. “Have I missed anything? You all look surprised about something. ”

Sophia Smiled, trying not to laugh. “No Captain, The ships have launched. We are now on course for the rebels Disith base.”

“Fine, carry on then.” He sat back and allowed himself to relax a bit. Even if it was only temporary he was home again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You have no idea how hard it was for me not to have Alex, and Sophia kiss in this chapter... I just had to keep reminding myself that it’s still too soon for that.
> 
> Some of the things in this chapter still feel a bit awkward to me, but no matter what I do, I can’t get them just right....especially the scene between Alex, and Claus. The whole scenario between them really just hit me out of nowhere when I started writing it.


	7. Battle

“So that’s it?” Alex asked looking out a window over the area the base was located in. You would never know it was there by sight. Even knowing the coordinates, it was nearly impossible to see it hidden in the snow-covered cliff.  “They did a good job hiding it. Break it open.”

Behind him Sophia nodded picking up her speaker. “Prepare the main cannon to fire!”

 **__________________________________________________________________________________**  

  
Augustus grimaced, looking at the codes on the screen. “No mater what I do, I can’t alter it to get control.. There must be some way...Ira! Will you stop that?! If she wakes too soon, she’ll be completely useless to us.”

Ira frowned and was about to reply when a huge explosion ripped though the complex, causing tremors that knocked them both off their feet. The chamber Ira had been standing in front of shifted a bit but remained in place. The woman inside was still ‘sleeping’ but there was now a look of discomfort on her face.

A boy ran into the room. “Sir! We’re under attack! It’s an armada.  We are out numbered! What should we do?”

Augustus stood, and glared at the boy. “Fight them you idiot! Get all the ships out there and destroy them!” The boy gulped visibly, but bowed and left to follow the orders he’d been given.

Ira stood, and dusted himself off. “I was wondering why Cicada hadn’t reported in yet. They must have failed.” He said in an absurdly cheerful manner considering the circumstances.

Augustus looked at him murderously.  “How can you be so calm? They are trying to destroy the base!”

“You win some, you lose some.” Ira replied calmly.

Augustus wished he could strangle the android. “You stay here and guard Orpheus! I’m going to lead the attack. I’ve come this far.  I will not fail now.”

Ira watched him go before shrugging to himself, and turning back to the clone chamber.

 **__________________________________________________________________________________**  

  
Tatiana felt a bit odd listening to the new Flight Commander give orders.

“Our objective is to guard the entry team to the compound. Once they are in, we are to remain close and keep a path of escape open for when they return. We don’t know what kind of defense the base its self has, but we know from past engagements we can expect a large number of starfish.” The boy was interrupted when enemy fire his the side of the ship knocking everyone off balance.

After regaining order everyone went to their ships preparing for take off. Lavie, and Alvis stood beside Claus’ ship. “Be careful.” Lavie managed to get out between biting her lips. Claus gave an encouraging smile. “I will. Don’t worry, I’ll be back and we’ll all go home together. It’s a promise.” Lavie nodded, smiling despite herself, Alvis was trying not to cry.

On the bridge; much closer to the point of impact things had been a bit more hectic. Alex was glad he’d been sitting again when the shot hit, several officers had been thrown off their feet. Wina had been thrown into a wall and hit her head, but insisted she was fine. He had ended up with Sophia in his lap. It had taken them a few minutes to get straightened out, and she lost her glasses. “Why the hell are they focusing on us when the guild ships are doing more damage?” He growled out as they escaped another shell with a near miss.

 **__________________________________________________________________________________**  

  
“Why are you focusing on the Silvana?! Take out the guild ships you idiots!” Augustus shouted watching another blood rose ship sink.

“The Empress, and Row are most likely on the Silvana, Sir.” A girl stated calmly.

“Idiots! All of you! They won’t quit fighting if you take out their leaders! Attack the guild ships! Don’t worry about the Silvana for now.”  Augustus ordered. He was beginning to wonder if the gods had some personal vendetta against him to be surrounded by such stupidity.

“Sir! Enemy starfish, and vanships are heading for the base!”

“Damn! Send all available fighters out at once! Do not let them enter!”

 **__________________________________________________________________________________**  

  
“Incoming enemy starfish!” Alis shouted to Tatiana. “We’re already surrounded!”

“Break formation! Engage the enemy!” Came the voice of the flight commander over the communicator. “We’re nearly to the compound.  We just need to give the entry team time to get inside!”

Tatiana had trouble keeping track of everyone else in the ensuing dog fight. She was relieved to hear when Lucciola, and Dio had gotten inside. Now they just had to worry about keeping themselves alive. More Starfish, and vanships were coming to aid them now. In the distance the Horatius shot down another Blood Rose ship.

 **__________________________________________________________________________________**  

  
Lucciola fired again taking out the last of the men in the corridor. He turned to the others and nodded. Just as Sophia had hoped, the base itself was left sparsely defended, they had not expected the air battle to be a diversion. This was only a small relief to the entry team. They had lost two on the way in, and there had been five deaths inside, and several injuries. Andrea Actias, Dr. Actias’ wife had taken a shot to the arm, but was still able to fight. At the moment she and her son Atlas were leading the group that was covering the rear of the entry team.

They had come in through the opening the Silvana’s armor piercing shell had made, and it had been enough to get them down several floors. They still had a way to go before they would reach Orpheus however, and no one was sure of how many had been left inside the base.

Moving forward Lucciola could hear more solders in front of them heading in their direction. He took a few moments to reload his gun before turning the corner, and firing at the first person he saw. Dio behind him pulled him back to avoid the return fire.

 **__________________________________________________________________________________**  

  
Augustus clenched his fist so tightly his knuckles had gone white. Everything was falling apart around him. Most of his fleet was now sinking to the Disith snow fields. The enemy had made it inside the base where there was too little defense. There was panic all around him on the bridge. The ship had taken a lot of damage, and a fire had broken out, and many of the crew were asking if they should evacuate. Several were already running without waiting for orders.

Unheeding Augustus stood on the bridge as a direct hit was made. He didn’t seem to notice at all as ship exploded around him.

 **__________________________________________________________________________________**  

  
“Claus! We’ve taken too much damage Alis, and I are heading back to the Silvana.” Tatiana said over the communicator maneuvering out of the way of an enemy. Claus took the starfish out with a few shots.

“All right! We’ll cover you. We’re getting low on ammunition anyway.”  Claus said pulling up beside the damaged vanship. After informing the flight commander they headed back toward the Silvana. “I hope Dio, Lucciola, and the others are ok in there.”

They had no trouble till they had nearly made it to the Silvana. The attack came from above. A lone starfish firing as it came at them full speed. Claus, and Tatiana separated, Claus telling her to get back to the ship as he turned to face the enemy. He managed to get the upper hand just before he ran out of ammo, but the starfish managed to get out one last round of fire. Pain exploded in Claus’ shoulder, and he couldn’t get any word from his navi. He headed back the Silvana as quickly, and carefully as he could, blood soaking through his flight suit. He managed to land but his vision was getting blurry, he could hear several frantic voices around him as he was pulled from his seat and forced to lie on the ground. He looked back toward the vanship to see Ethan and Gale lift his navi carefully out of the ship.  The older boy was also covered in blood. He could have sworn he heard Lavie call out to him, but everything faded to black before he could find her.

 **__________________________________________________________________________________**  

  
Lucciola looked around the room this gun raised. Dio and several others had followed him in while others stood guard at the door. They were surprised to find no one in Orpheus’ room. As they walked toward the machine no one noticed that the door of one of the empty clone chambers was slightly ajar.

Placing the explosive they left the room, and waited as Andrea used a device to seal the door so no one would be able to enter too easily. “I don’t know how long it will last. We need to get out of here quickly.”

The boys nodded and they began to head back the way they came. When they arrived at the entry point, they noticed one of the starfish had been stolen. Knowing nothing could be done about it they loaded up the surviving injured, and left the base.

“Everyone move away from the base! I’m setting of the detonator!” Dio took the detonator, and  pushed the switch. The resulting explosion shook everything even the fleeing starfish, and vanships. “Waaaahhh! So much for containing the explosion! I’m glad we weren’t in there!” Dio frowned accusingly at the small device in his hand. He blinked hearing Lucciola chuckle a bit.

“Let’s get back to the Silvana ...Dio”

Dio blinked again, and then smiled brightly. “Roger!”

 **__________________________________________________________________________________**  

  
It had over a week since the victory over Blood Rose. There were still rebels hiding out there, but from the information they had gathered their forces had been decimated, and were no longer a huge threat to Prester. Alex was still worried however as a few days after the victory Cicada somehow escaped the guild prison alone. No one knew how he had done and there was no clue to where he had gone. For now Alex made himself content with the knowledge that the people he cared for were safe. “Well if you’re lucky that will be the only time you ever get shot. At least you aren’t whining like Vincent did.” He said not looking up from papers he was looking over.

Claus frowned at Alex, he could already feel his face going red. Sophia smiled a bit, leaning over in her chair she whispered in his ear. “Don’t let him fool you. He was worried sick when we were told. The moment the battle was over he went to the infirmary to check on you.” Somehow that made everything even more embarrassing. Claus wondered where Lavie, and Alvis were.

He was resting in his guestroom at the palace. The bullet had gone straight through the left shoulder, and caused a lot of bleeding and tissue damage. He wouldn’t be flying for a while but Dr. Actias had ensured him he’d make a full recovery. For now his left arm was stuck in a sling. At least he’d have something to share with Mullin when they got back. His navi hadn’t been so lucky. The young man had survived, but was going to be laid up for months. Despite this he was still ecstatic about having flown with _the_ Claus Valca, and was determined to get back in the air again as soon as he recovered.

“What’s all that for anyway?” Claus asked motioning to the paperwork Alex had. It annoyed him a bit that the man still seemed to be working even when taking the time to visit him.

“It’s for you, _Lord Valca_.” Alex said handing him some of the documents. Claus blinked, and sputtered, not sure what to say.

Sophia smiled sadly at him. “We’ve been trying to find out just how much was left your parents’ estate. We were lucky to find anything, Marius, and Alex weren’t the only ones Father decided needed to be punished...” Her face darkened for a moment as she spoke, the bitterness in her voice left hanging in the air after she finished.

“Sophia started looking into things after you left for Earth. You, and Lavie never should have lost that farm, even after Justina died. I never had access to anything, as I only a servant by law. I had no idea what the emperor was up too. When Marius informed me the two of you were going lose the farm I told him to sell my vanship, and whatever else was left in my name so you would still have a home.” Alex was quiet for a while, remembering. Marius had contacted him again afterward to tell him the children had given up the farm to keep the vanship they thought had belonged to their fathers. He recalled getting very drunk after hearing that. Claus didn’t need to know about _that_ part.

Claus read over the documents carefully. “You mean...all this is mine?” He asked feeling slightly dazed. It wasn’t a vast fortune like the Mad-Thane’s had but it was more that the boy had ever imagined he would own. Sophia nodded. Claus sat staring at the papers for a few moments, and was startled when Alex waved a hand in front of face. “Eh?...What?”

“Oh good, for a minute I thought we broke you.” Alex said, looking slightly amused at Claus’ shock.

Sophia smiled again, though she still looked a bit sad. “That’s all we could find, and we couldn’t get a lot of your parents things back. As long as you’re careful you shouldn’t have to worry about the future though.”

Claus nodded. “Thank you, but You didn’t have to do all this.”

Sophia shook her head. “There were so many terrible things my father did. Things even Marius never knew. I’m glad to be able to fix what I can.”

 **__________________________________________________________________________________**  

  
“And then, you know what they did Euris? They went right back to work! The rest of us are trying to celebrate victory, and they're hold up in an office doing paper work.” Vincent paused taking another drink of coffee. “I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able stand this... If Alex doesn’t open his eyes and do something soon, I’m going to do something, ...and probably regret it.” Sighing he looked down at the memorial stone again. Some of the plants had been moved away already in preparation of storing it on exile. For Alex, and Sophia it was a way of bringing Euris with them, rather than having another stone made when they reached Earth. “Well I’d better go make sure they aren’t working them selves to death. I’ll talk to you later.”

He paid little attention to the now familiar surroundings as he stepped through the door into the hall. He hadn’t gotten very far when something landed on the top of his head. He could hear an apology shouted from the walkway above him, but didn’t know who it was as he was trying to get the spots out of his eyes. When his vision finally cleared, he looked to see Father Jamieson’s very old, and worn bible laying on the floor in front of him. A small book mark had fallen out of it. He picked them both up. The book looked no worse for the fall, and the book mark looked fine as well. It had ‘Patience is a virtue.’ printed on it in worn gold leaf. He stared at it for a moment and then turned, looking back toward the garden. He could just see the top of Euris’ memorial over a small bush.

“I’m terribly shorry, it jusht shliped from my handsh.” Father Jamieson lisped, looking apologetic.

Vincent handed the book back to him still a bit distracted. “It’s ok. Eh...no harm done.. your book mark fell out though...Er...You’ve forgotten your teeth again.”

The priest blinked at him, before smiling. “Sho I have. Don’t worry about the book mark. I know eshactly where it bleongsh. I wash reading the book of Exshodush”

“Exsho..Exodus?” Vincent asked feeling slightly embarrassed about having to do so. The old priest nodded.

“It ish kind of shimilar to what your people are now doing. Heading to the promished land.”

Vincent remembering the story nodded, but paused remembering something else. “...Didn’t they get lost in a desert for forty years?”

 **__________________________________________________________________________________**  

  
The girls were looking through the wreckage of Claus, and Lavie’s old house in Norkia. So far they hadn’t found much, but Lavie had discovered a few trinkets she was glad had not been lost forever. Placing some things she and Claus had saved from the farm into one of the bags they had brought with them, she paused to wipe her brow. Tatiana walked over and joined her.

“I don’t think were going to find much more.” She said holding out some old clothes that had been saved since they were children. They still looked in good shape, and with a little work would probably make nice play clothes for Dunya’s siblings.

Lavie took them and nodded. “Yeah, I think we’ve found all we’re going to. We should head back....It’s getting so hot again already isn’t it?” She jumped when a stray cat dashed from a partly opened cabinet. Alvis, and Alister walked over with the last of what they had found. They paused watching the cat slink off.

Alvis frowned “What’s going to happen to all the animals they can’t catch? They're going to stay here aren’t they?”

Lavie nodded frowning. “I wonder how long they’ll have.” She said quietly.

“Alex thinks some of the rebels that escaped will stay here too, even though Sophia has offered them asylum if they turn them selves in. Only a few showed up to be taken into custody.” Tatiana said picking up a bag. “Even though they are still enemies it’s terrible to think they’ll just stay here and die.”

It was a terrible thought, and none of them were sure what to say. There was still time however, perhaps more would come to their senses.


	8. Across the Stars

Ira looked about carefully before slipping into hiding place he had discovered. It was one of the storage rooms aboard the ship, mostly used for items that would not be needed again until Exile arrived at Earth. It was a surprisingly good place to hide two people who might be a bit too recognizable. Actually getting them aboard had been the difficult part. Several of the remaining Blood Rose troops had tried and failed. They were now in holding cells along with those who had willingly surrendered. Ira was not sure how many had like him managed to succeed. Most of the rebels it seemed however had chosen pride, and apparent death on the dying colony. Ira did wonder about that though. Humans, as far as he had observed were capable of amazing things. If there was a way to survive on Prester, they would find it.

“Breakfast is served.” He said quietly handing Cicada one of the packages of food he had brought. He wondered if he had done the right thing at times freeing the man, but Cicada’s knowledge was necessary for his experiment. The subject of which was sitting on the floor not far away oblivious to the world around her. They still hadn’t decided what they would call her, the name Delphine was far too dangerous, and in any case so far she seemed to be entirely different from her ill fated ‘predecessor.’ Ira sat in front of the girl opening the extra package of food she looked at him then down at the food.

“Mine?” she asked reaching for it. Ira nodded, and continued his observation. Watched carefully she was already capable of feeding herself without too much mess. She had also learned, and understood several words, and short phrases. She was however very stubborn on the issue of walking. Time would tell what the clone would be able to do without the aid of Orpheus.

 _“Useless indeed”_ Ira thought to himself sarcastically. _“We shall see who you become on your own. Humans really are amazing creatures.”_

 **__________________________________________________________________________________**  

  
“I don’t care what you do. Just as long as _I don’t see him for the rest of the day_.” Alex growled as he shut the door on Lucciola, and Claus before they could get another word in. They could still hear Sophia giggling inside. At the end of the hallway Dio peered around the corner apprehensively. They both looked at him before sighing simultaneously.  

“I said I was sorry..” Dio mumbled when they reached him. They were going to be stuck on Exile for at least four months if everything went well. While the ship was large enough to carry the entire population of Prester, along with all the livestock, and wild animals they had managed to capture, it was of course no where near as spacious as Prester had been. Dio excited to finally be heading to Earth had been exuberant. He’d been acting like a child on a sugar rush nonstop for days now. This morning he’d reached the breaking point with Alex, who had been barely tolerating him for the past few days as it was. Claus, and Lucciola dragged Dio away from the residential area of the ship. Alex was probably heading to change clothes and wash off the remains of what was supposed to have been his breakfast.

Leaving they headed to one of the recreational areas where they found the girls with several Silvana crew members.

“Honest! It was nearly as big as the Silvana and it just jumped right out of the ocean! We were too close to the surface when it splashed back down and ended up covered in sea water.” Lavie said grinning at the disbelieving audience.

Alis nodded. Smiling as well. “There are so many strange things there! They have moving pictures! It’s like going to the theater, only no one has to worry about forgetting their lines. They also have vehicles kind of like vanships, but they stay on the ground.”  
   
Lavie turned and looked at them. “Where have you guys been?”

“Saving Alex from Dio.” Claus said sitting down. This earned him a frown from Dio.

Tatiana grinned, looking up from her breakfast. “I was wondering how long he was going to keep his cool with you acting like that. It took longer than I expected.” Remembering something, she turned to Kostavi. “Are Alex, and Sophia really going back the Silvana?”

The mechanic nodded grinning. “Yep. All the arrangements have already been made. It was actually Alzey who talked them into it.” Just mentioning the admiral made him frown a bit.

Alis sitting next to Ethan smiled. “We’ll know to find them when we want to visit then.” Still smiling she turned to Ethan. “You’ll come visit the farm won’t you?”

“Of course.” He answered blushing slightly.

“I can’t wait to get home.” Lavie said wistfully looking out the window at the gradually shrinking colony. “I wonder how Mullin, and Dunya did without us. We didn’t really have time to send many messages.”  

“I’m sure they’re fine.” Claus said smiling, he couldn’t wait to get back either. His thoughts were interrupted as Aphid ran between his legs and jumped into Dio’s arms. She had one of Alvis’ hair covers in her mouth. Alvis, and Holly soon appeared slightly out of breath. Half of Alvis’s hair was down her back and a bit tangled. Dio was not the only one being mischievous today it seemed. Alvis stomped up to Dio, and Aphid frowning. Aphid just purred in return looking rather pleased with her self. When Dio tried to return the stolen item Aphid jumped out of his arms and up onto a high shelf, where no one could reach her. After a few moments the others started laughing watching Dio, and Lucciola trying to get the cat to behave.

 **__________________________________________________________________________________**  

  
Vincent jumped hearing someone call him he turned quickly and relaxed a bit seeing who it was. “Oh, Princess Mary-Anne, it just you...I thought you were my sister for a moment.”

The princess raised an eyebrow at him. Blushing a bit he smiled and scratched that back of his head. “We don’t get along very well...it’s a long story.”

Mary-Anne nodded. “Do you mind if I join you?”

“No go ahead....Can I ask you something?” Vincent asked looking around to see who else was there with them.

“Of course.”

“...What exactly is this Edly field thing your brother doesn’t want anyone to talk about?”

Mary-Anne smiled. “Oh, that. Just a small disaster really. There was an incident a few years ago. A governor of one of the empire’s territories let things go to his head a bit, he was being an absolute barbarian. Father sent Vicky to sort things out, well you’ve seen how he is. Made a terrible mess of everything. A lot of fighting broke out fortunately there were no fatalities, but there were quite a few very bad injuries. Father ended up sending our oldest brother Justin in to sort things out. He never did trust Vicky with anything important again after that. Sending him here was Mother’s idea. She’s always felt a bit bad for him, being a second son and all.”

Vincent nodded quietly. Drinking his coffee.

“You know.” Mary-Anne said smiling. “You never did answer my question.”

 _“Ha.”_ He thought he was prepared this time. He nodded again, and smiled himself. “It doesn’t really matter does it? A year ago I’d have told you he’d never be good enough for her. Now...now I just want them to be happy. I think they could be if they woke up a bit. It will happen eventually, and it’s going to hurt like hell when it does. I just hope they don’t wait too long and let life pass them by. But ‘Patience is a virtue’, or so I’ve heard.”

Mary-Anne raised her eyebrow at him again. “Where did you hear this?”

“A rather painful message from above.”

 **__________________________________________________________________________________**  

  
The group looked through the abandoned Guild City. There wasn’t much left, but they would manage. They still had ships, they still had supplies, they still had time. There was no need for the filthy surface dwellers, nor for the weak traitors who had fled. They would start over, and this time they would make a world without imperfections.

There were few, and there was little to work with, but there was still hope.


	9. Epilogue

Lucciola looked through the storage room of the Silvana. Carefully checking the labels of crates, and shelves. He found the one he had been searching for and pulled the small crate down only to find Aphid had beat him there, when her head popped up to look at him. He sighed and set the crate down letting Aphid hop out. She rubbed her sleek body against his ankle and purred. He reached to grab the part Godwin had asked for, and was nearly knocked over by the sudden extra weight of Dio landing on his back.

“Lord Dio..”

Dio sighed rolling his eye. “It’s not Lord Dio, anymore Lucciola, just Dio.”

“Right...Dio...” Lucciola tried to stand up, but Dio was still clinging to him. “Um..Dio...” Dio only laughed. Lucciola sighed, and tried to stand again only lose his balance. They both toppled over, startling Aphid, who jumped up onto a shelf. Looking down at them from the safety of her perch she mewled curiously when both boys started to laugh.

 **__________________________________________________________________________________**  

  
Lavie, and Dunya stood on the porch waving at Alvis, Mischa, and Ingrid as they walked down the road with Mullin toward the school.  

After they were out of sight, Dunya went in to clean the dishes from breakfast. Lavie walked over to the garage, where Claus, Tatiana, and Alis worked on the vanships. “Do you think we’ll have them ready in time to test the track?” She asked as she zipped up her coveralls and prepared to join them.

“I think so.” Claus answered, his voice slightly muffled from being under the vanship.

Alister smiled trying to wipe a spot of grease off her chin. “A race through the Grand Canyon! We saw it when we made a delivery to a town near it. You won’t believe it, it’s amazing!”

Tatiana grinned. “Maybe Ethan will be there to watch.” Her grin widened when Alis blushed.

 **__________________________________________________________________________________**  

  
The three figures sat in the shade of a tree at the bus stop. Two men, though it was difficult to tell with one, and a young woman sitting in one of the guild made hovering chairs. Her snowy hair was cropped short, and despite looking much too old for such things she was playing with a doll.

“The last doctor said she might learn to speak more, eventually. She’s always going to need someone to look after her. Are you sure you’re up to that?” Ira asked. When his companion only grunted in response, he rolled his eyes.

An old woman arrived, and sat near them, when the girl in the chair dropped her doll the woman returned it with a kindly smile. “Poor little dear.”

Ira nodded smiling.“She was born that way I’m afraid. We’re heading east to a hospital where they might be able to help her.”

The lady smiled, and gently patted the girl’s hand. “What’s your name dear?”

“Rose. Her name is Rose.” Said the second man, speaking for the first time.

“What a lovely name. I hope they can help you Rose.”

Rose only smiled, and went back to playing with her doll. Ira nodded, still smiling. “We shall see.”

 **__________________________________________________________________________________**  

  
Alex stepped out of the lift onto the bridge. This would be so much easier when he didn’t need the damn crutches anymore. “Anything?” He asked as he reached his chair.

“Nothing yet. They’re laying low for now.” Sophia replied pushing her glasses further up on her nose.

Wina turned frowning a bit. “Do you think they’ve moved on?”  
   
Alex shook his head. “This has become the most used trade route between the Empire and the American territories. The pirates aren’t going to run just because we’re here patrolling now. They’ll show up eventually.”

Wina nodded and turned back to her duties.

Sophia smiled at him, though there was a quirk to it that made him raise an eyebrow at her. “Vincent sent a message.” She handed his the note watching his face as he read.

He glared at the parchment in a way that made her almost expect it to burst into flames. “He’s being awfully generous with _our_ time.” He sighed and handed the note back to Sophia. “How soon are they going to need us? Were going to have to find someone to replace us here first.”    

“I told him we’d be there in about a week. I’ve already sent a message out requesting another ship to take our place.” Sophia smiled again, giggling a bit when he rolled his eyes. “While we’re there perhaps you should make an appointment with Dr. Actias.”  
   
Alex sighed again, He was about to reply when Wina turned. “Unknown engines approaching, Sir! In the cloud bank. Planes, I’m not sure what model though. They’re heading right for us.”  

“Slipping up already, are they? Prepare for battle. I want this over quickly.” Alex leaned back in the chair, listening as Sophia repeated his orders, and the crew prepared for the coming attack.

It was good to be home again.

 **End**


End file.
